Constitutional Brinksmanship: Amending the Constitution by National Convention

by Russell L. Caplan

Overview

In this first systematic study of the legal problems relating to the convention clause, Russell Caplan shows that repeated constitutional crises have given rise to state drives for a national convention nearly every twenty years since the Constitution was enacted. He deftly examines the politics of constitutional brinksmanship between Congress and the states to reveal the ongoing tension between state and federal rights and constitutional tradition and reform.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195345285
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/08/1988
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	375 KB

Table of Contents

Part I.	History
1.	Prelude to the Grand Convention	3
2.	Phladelphia and After	27
3.	The Nineteenth Century	41
4.	The Twentieth Century	61
Part II.	Operating Principles
5.	Judging Applications	93
6.	Congress, the Courts, and the President	115
7.	The Convention's Proposing Agenda	138
	Conclusion: The Politics of Uncertainty	159
Appendix	Convention Applications of Virginia and New York, 1788-1789	165
	Works Frequently Cited	169
	Notes	173
	Bibliography	217
	Index	233